My son in law has been in to it for a few years. He is getting very good, and has learned from a few mistakes. He has been trying "whole grain" brewing (rather than from concentrate), and grows his own hops. (our little barley "crop" failed in 2009) I'm more into light beer for the little that I drink, but when he brings me a bottle of his (in the Sam Adams class), I'm more than happy to drink it. I may get into hard cider.

Thanks everyone! While shopping for the supplies we talked to 2 home brewers that were very generous on chatting up the whole subject, we are very excited to try it-our first batch will be a porter-we ordered a boiling pot on line. went to a restaurant supply store but they wanted $150.00 for a stainless steel pot-a bit more $ than we want to spend. Hopefully this weekend we can get this candle lit :)